Safety-bracket for car-doors.



PATENTED APR. 3, 1906.

y o. M. sTIMsoN.

SAFETY BRACKET FOR GAR DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED OUT 12 1905 I IINFIF OSCAR M. STIMSON, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES M.

- HOPKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SFETY-BRACIKET FOP CAR-DOORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 3, 1906.

Application filed October 12, 1905. Serial No. 282,390.

To 1f/ZZ whom it 11M/ty concern:

Be it known that I, OscAn M. STIMsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, ir; the county of Cook and State of Illi nois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Safetydrackets for Car-Doors, of which I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification.

The present invention relates more particularly to brackets designed forofuiding and guarding the lower edges ofthe sliding doors of railwayfreight-cars and the object of the invention is to provide an improvedconstruction of burglar-proof bracket, whereby the unauthorized removalof the guidebracket from the car-body is prevented, notwithstanding thefact that the main throughbolts of the bracket are withdrawn.

The invention consists in the features of improvement hereinafterdescribed, illustrated in the accompai'iying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure I is a viewin front elevation of a guide-bracket embodying myinvention, the bracket being shown in position for use upon the sidewall of the car. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section on line 2 2 ofFig. 1, this section showing also a portion of the car-wall and thelower portion of the door within the bracket. Fig. 3 is a view Iin frontelevation of that part of the car-wall adjacent the bottom of the doorwith the locking-bar for the bracket in position thereon, the bracket being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is an inner face view of the bracketdetached. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the lockingbar.

The bracket A will be formed of cast metal with a guard-flange aextending upward from the top portion d of the bracket, the flange aserving to guide and retain the lower edge of the car-door B in mannerpermitting the door to slide therethrough in usual manner. The bracket Ais provided with a back plate A', having a plurality of holes a2 for-medtherethrough to receive the through bolts C, whereby the bracket will bebolted to the lougitudinal beam that extends beneath the door of thecar. In the back plate A of the bracket is formed an oblong ornon-circular hole a?, and on the outside of this hole a3 is formed apocket or chamber a4, the side walls of which extend at a distance fromthe side walls of the holes a3, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4of the drawings.

To the side wall or beam D of the car beneath the door-opening isattached the locking bar E, the preferred construction of which is thatillustrated in the accompanying drawings. As shown, this bar E is formedwith a hole e, through which will pass the lagscrew F, whereby thelocking-bar is attached to the car wall or beam D, and from the innerface of the lockingbar F project the teeth or spurs E', that will beembedded in the wall or beam D when the locking-bar is inposition foruse. The spurs F/ extend, as shown, from the hub c', that surrounds theopening c, and this hub serves to hold the locking-bar E at a slightdistance from the face of the car wall or beam D, such distance bein@equal at least to the thickness of that part of the back plate A of thebracket that surrounds the non-circular hole c3. The locking-bar E isoblonO and corresponds in general outline with the holes a3 of thebracket; but the locking-bar is held in such position upon the side wallor beam D of the car that it will be at an angle, preferably at rightangles, to the noncircular hole a3 of the bracket whenA the bracket isin position for use. Hence it will be seen that in order to place thebracket upon the car it must first be turned to the po* sition shown bydotted lines in Fig. 3, when the back plate A may be set over thelockingbar E, that will pass through the hole a3. The bracket will thenbe turned upward, so that the flange a will be in position to guide andguard the lower edge of the car-door B. After the bracket has thus beenplaced in position the bolts C will be passed through the back plate Aand through the previously-formed holes in the car wall or beam D. Whenthe bracket is thus in position for use, its flange a will securelyguard and guide the lower edge of the cardoor B, and it will be seenthat even if the bolts C should thereafter be removed it will still beimpossible to remove the bracket A, because such removal of the bracketcannot be effected so long as the door B is in place, as with the door'in place the bracket cannot be turned to the horizontal positionnecessary to permit the bracket to be withdrawn from the locking-bar E.

Preferably the hub c between the spurs E and the offset arms of thelocking-barhas flattened side portions-e2, the thickness of the hubbetween these side portions being approximately equalthe Width of thenarrow portions o'f the hole a3, formed in the back plate A ofthebracket. Hence it will be seen that when the bracket is turned fromposition shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown by fulllines in Fig. 1 and is then moved downward the arms or offset portionsof the locking-bar E will rest within the upper portion of the pocket a4of the bracket, and at such time the iiattened walls e2 of the hub eofthe locking-bar will be opposite the edges of the narrow upper portionof the hole a3. Hence it will be seen that while the bracket is in suchposition the flattened surfaces e2 of the locking-bar hub will serve toprevent the turning of the bracket toward the horizontal positionnecessaryT to secure its disengagement from the locking-bar. On theother hand, if there be sufficient distance between the bracket and thelower edge 0f the cardoor to allow the bracket to be raised until thehub e of the locking-bar is opposite the central vportion of the hole L3the turning of the bracket will then be prevented by the engagement ofthe upper surface a of the bracket with the lower edge of the door. Itwill thus be seen that under no circumstances willit be possible todisengage the bracket a so long as the door B is within the bracket.

It is manifest that the precise details of construction above set forthmay be varied without departure from the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A device of the character described, comprising a locking-bar adaptedto be secured to the car-wall, and 'a bracket having a back plate formedwith a non-circular hole therein to admit the locking-bar and to enablethe back plate to revolubly engage therewith, said hole extending at anangle to the length of the locking-bar when the bracket is turned toposition for use.

the locking-bar when the bracket is turned to position for use.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a locking-bar havingone or more spurs to hold it against revolution, a screw for unitingsaid bar to the car-wall and a bracket having a back plate provided witha non-circular hole therein to admit the locking-bar and to enable theback plate to revolubly en gage therewith, said bracket being providedwith a portion on the outer face of the back plate extending over saidhole.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a locking-barprovided with means whereby it may be attached to the car-wall, anoffset to engage the bracket, in combination with the bracket having aback plate provided with a hole adapted to receive the offset portion ofthe locking-bar, when the bracket is turned away from position for use,the portions of the back plate adjacent said hole being adapted tointerlock with the locking-bar when the bracket is turned into positionfor use. l

5. A device of the character described, comprising a bracket having aback plate formed with a hole therein having a contracted upper portion,in combination with a locking-bar having an offset part adapted toengage said back plate when the bracket is turned to position for use,said locking-bar being provided with a hub having flattened portionsadapted to enter the contracted upper portion of the hole in the backplate of the bracket.

' OSCAR M. STIMSON.

Vitnesses PETER. PARKE, JOHN ANDREW JAcKsON.

